Checkmate
In Chess Titans, the game is usually ended by a checkmate. It occurs when one's king is in a position where it cannot escape check. When it happens to you, you get a dialog asking you if you want to end the game or go back and undo your moves back to when your king was not in checkmate. When it happens to your opponent, you instantly win the game, obviously. However, if you or your opponent's king is not in check but no pieces can be legitimately moved, a stalemate results instead. Strategies The most common checkmates are: Scholar's mate This one is pretty easy. First, have an open game by moving your fifth pawn from the left two spaces forward, then your opponent must move the one in the same column two spaces forward also. However, this exposes your bishop so that it can move to three spaces northwest. Then your opponent must move his knight to the third column. However your queen is also exposed so that it can move northeast to the very right. Your opponent will try to capture your queen by moving their knight at the right to the sixth column, but that ends up being a very bad move, because you can then capture the pawn just southeast of your opponent's king, resulting that checkmate. Difficulty This does not always work. In fact, your opponent can move his knight to the right FIRST, allowing your queen to be captured earlier. However the checkmate does succeed 90% of the time in level 1, 60% in level 2, 25% in level 3, 10% in level 4, and 3% in level 5. Algebraic notation In algebraic notation, the checkmate is described as: Fool's mate This one is perhaps the simplest checkmate ever. However, it can only be achieved by black. So if you want to achieve it, you must be playing as black. To change who is playing as what color, go into Game > Settings, and change the option to "Play against computer as black" if that one is not already on. But to achieve the checkmate, your opponent (white this time) MUST move either his second pawn from the left two spaces forward or third pawn from the left at least one space forward. After ONE of either move is done, move your pawn blocking your queen one or two spaces forward. Then your opponent must make the other move (if the second pawn from the left moved two spaces forward, then the third pawn from the left must move one/two spaces forward, or vice versa), and then move your queen northwest to the leftmost column for the checkmate. Logic behind this checkmate's name This checkmate is called the fool's mate because White does indeed act like a fool not blocking the obvious case for a checkmate, though another logic for the name of this mate is that if you are a fool at chess yourself, and you play as black, that's perhaps the only mate you can get in a few number of moves. Difficulty It is extremely rare to achieve this checkmate because White always moves first, and so your opponent may not choose to do either of those moves just because he feels like losing very quickly to you by the checkmate, so he tries to avoid it, especially on levels usually higher than level 2. The mate is still possible to achieve, though, except that you can successfully achieve it only like 20% of the time in level 1, and 5% in level 2, and 0.3% in level 3, etc. It's also been confirmed it's clearly impossible to achieve it in level 10, because since at that level you have the smartest opponent, he can hardly if ever even choose to not avoid it, especially because he also moves first and his first move is usually very smart. Algebraic notation In algebraic notation, the checkmate is described as: If White made the other move, then it is: Alternate fool's mate If you haven't managed to checkmate White under Black with the official fool's mate, you can do this one under White, though it requires three moves instead of two but Black still only makes two. To achieve this one, go back to playing as white if you aren't already, then make an open game but only from your side. Your opponent MUST have their seventh pawn from your left move two spaces forward. Then have any other move you choose, but don't do one that dissolves the checkmate. Then, your opponent MUST move their sixth pawn from your left at least one space forward. Then move your queen northeast to the very right, and the checkmate will have occurred. It is technically the same concept as the original fool's mate, because only one piece is also involved in the checkmate and both of Black's moves are also blunders, and they can be done in either order. Difficulty This mate isn't as luck-based as the original fool's mate because it's achieved under playing as white, and white always moves first, so you can do it pretty easily, though it still requires luck so that BOTH of Black's blunder moves are made. Algebraic notation In algebraic notation, the checkmate is described as: If Black made the other move, then it is: Légal Mate The Légal Mate, also known as the Queen Sacrifice, isn't as short as the others, though it is also easy, especially on higher levels because it is very likely for the bishop to capture the queen when it is exposed. This can only be achieved by White, so make sure you are playing as White if you aren't already. First, do the Semi-Italian Opening by starting with the Open Game, moving your knight on the right side to the space ahead of the pawn in front of your bishop at the right, and having your opponent do the same (from his point of view), then moving your right bishop three spaces northwest, and having your opponent make a move that is almost a mistake by his pawn in the fourth column from your left move one space forward. Then get your knight at the left to the space ahead of the pawn next to the left bishop, while your opponent's bishop in the third column from your left moves four spaces southeast. Move the first pawn from your right one space forward to try to capture the bishop, but if you do, your queen will be at risk because your bishop will move one space northwest to the final column. Then, move the queen at the right half so that it captures the pawn. However, it will expose your queen to your opponent's bishop and it will be captured. That doesn't make the mate harder, and is, in fact, exactly the purpose of the mate, so capture the pawn next to your opponent's bishop and to the southeast of your opponent's king to put him in check. The only way for your opponent to get out of check will be to move the king to thet position just west of the bishop. Finally, move your knight next to the other knight to finish with you winning. Algebraic notation Difficulty This mate is very luck-based indeed, because your opponent can take the capture of your queen into avoidance of this mate. Plus, the opening is also very luck-based, since your opponent may also not bother to move his pawn next to your moved pawn, let alone even choose to continue with the Semi-Italian Opening. Trivia * For some reason, when you win, it says "Congratulations, you won by checkmate!", even though there is no other way to win if playing against computer because your opponent never resigns. * If you got checkmated and choose to undo and try again, the game will still be counted as a loss in your statistics, in spite of the fact that you didn't choose to end the game. * Likewise, if you got checkmated or got a draw and chosen to undo and try again, and then your opponent's king is checkmated, the result still won't be changed to a win, in spite of the fact that you won that time. Category:Endgame outcomes Category:Situations involving the king Category:Pages with galleries Category:Strategy pages